Sewage Overflows in the Detroit River. Photo Credit: Bob Burns, Detroit Riverkeeper

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1 Sewage Overflows in the Detroit River Photo Credit: Bob Burns, Detroit Riverkeeper

2 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration In May of 2004, President Bush issued an Executive Order Recognized Great Lakes as a national treasure Created Federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force Directed EPA Administrator to convene a regional collaboration of national significance for the Great Lakes Charged to develop national restoration and protection action plan for Great Lakes All 8 states, mayors, federal agencies» Over 1500 people involved One year Signed December 12, 2005

3 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy End sewage overflows and improve beach health Prevent introduction and manage existing invasive species Clean up toxic hotspots and our Areas of Concern Reduce inputs of new toxins and persistent chemicals Reduce polluted run-off Protect and restore key habitat across the basin, including at least 500,000 acres of coastal wetlands Invest in sustainable development Monitor progress

4 Sewage Overflows In 2006, cities dumped over 23 billion gallons of raw sewage into the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan

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6 Source: Moundsville, West Virginia

7 CSOs CSO = combined sewage overflow CSO outfalls contain a combination of: storm water partially or wholly untreated sewage industrial pretreated waste CSO discharges can cause: a reduction of oxygen levels in surrounding waters harming aquatic organisms increase levels of phosphorus promoting harmful algae blooms cause a concentration of toxic chemical and metal levels increasing the bioaccumulation effects and increase harmful E. coli bacteria levels causing beach closings

8 Clean Water Act Congress passed the Clean Water Act (1972) Launched major regulatory effort to control pollution from industrial and municipal sources One of the largest single sources of pollution to the Detroit River Effluent discharged from 78 combined sewer outfalls are found along the Detroit and Rouge Rivers CSO outfalls are part of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) sanitary system One of the largest single site waste treatment plants in the world Covers an area of approximately 946 square miles Services 76 communities containing nearly 3 million people Takes wastewater from over 10,000 commercial and over 350 significant industrial users

9 CSO Facilities DWSD currently operates and maintains seven CSO facilities Four of these are retention basins, which allow heavy storm flows to be temporarily stored Hubbell Southfield CSO Basin 7 Mile CSO Basin

10 CSOs Detroit s three remaining CSO facilities are screening and disinfection facilities (St. Aubin, Lieb, and Baby Creek) Used only during high flow events Their designs provide for 10 minutes of disinfection contact time These three CSO facilities do not have any temporary storage capacity, but disinfect, screen, and separate solids from the storm water flow Solids are transported to an offsite location for disposal Remaining screened flow is disinfected and released to the river

11 Photo Credit: Bob Burns, Detroit Riverkeeper 2008 CSO Data for Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant In 2008, the following was released in the Detroit and Rouge Rivers 3.4 billion gallons of diluted raw sewage 30 billion gallons of partially treated sewage

12 How much is that? 1 bathtub = 50 gallons of water 33.4 billion gallons / 50 gallons = roughly 668,000,000 full bathtubs of sewage U.S. population = Approaching 306 million

13 CSO Impact on Lake Erie Source: Michigan Sea Grant

14 Impact on Coastal Health: Lake Erie Pollutes out water with: Disease-causing microorganisms called pathogens Pathogens lead to beach closures 124 closings in Michigan (2006 data from NRDC report) 629 closings in Ohio (2006 data from NRDC report) Excess nutrients Kills aquatic life Creates algae that can suffocate fisheries Heavy metals Other toxins

15 Overview of CSO Problem As reported in the 2007 MDEQ CSO and SSO Report: 12 of the original 78 CSO outfalls have received some type of control measures to date 24 more being addressed in current or planned projects to be completed by more to be addressed in the future

16 How do we fix this problem? Build CSO retention and disinfection facilities, control tunnels, and increase treatment capacities and processing at the DWSD treatment plant Use green infrastructure Engage citizens

17 Build CSO Facilities: It s expensive!!! Providing public water and treating sewage is the second highest category of local government spending next to public education According to the US Council of Mayors, more than $82 billion was spent in 2005 on water and sewer services and infrastructure by cities This investment protects public health, supports local and metropolitan economies, and protects ecosystems Unfortunately, financial assistance for these projects continues to decrease from low-interest loans through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and federal grants

18 Build CSO Facilities: Southeast Michigan Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) report, Investments in Reducing Combined Sewer Overflows Pays Dividends Indicates approximately $2.4 billion is being invested in Southeast Michigan to reduce CSOs When the report was written in September 2008, over $1 billion of the projects were complete Remaining commitments are in various stages of design or construction

19 Build CSO Facilites: Create Jobs U.S. Conference of Mayors Water Council prepared report, Local Government Investment in Municipal Water and Sewer Infrastructure: Adding Value to the National Economy $1 of water and sewer infrastructure investment increases GDP in the long-term by $6.35 Adding one new job in the local public water and sewer sector creates 3.68 jobs in the national economy to support that job National Construction Alliance report Every $1 billion invested in water infrastructure results in 47,000 jobs in the United States

20 Build CSO Facilities: Need Government Support Level of spending for sewers need to at least DOUBLE over the next 30 years Federal commitments must be longterm and continual Sewage infrastructure merits levels proportional to transportation infrastructure

21 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Restores, recycles, and extends natural and built regional infrastructure Highly effective for stormwater runoff reduction and pollutant removal Saves money compared to conventional infrastructure Delivers multiple community benefits along with stormwater management Source: Steve Wise, The Center for Neighborhood Technology

22 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Low-Impact Development Manual Created by SEMCOG and MI DEQ MI Great Lakes Plan plans to implement where possible statewide

23 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Roofs Green Infrastructure consists of vegetation and soil, planted over a waterproofing membrane Source: Don Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

24 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Bioretention/Rain Gardens Natural or excavated depression backfilled with engineered fill media designed to capture, filter, and store storm water Source: Don Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

25 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Bioswale Long narrow channel, planted with a variety of trees, shrubs, and grasses over permeable soils Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces is directed through the swale to filter pollutants and promote infiltration Source: Don Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

26 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Porous Pavement Pavement (concrete or asphalt) consisting of traditional structural materials with regularly interspersed void areas that allow drainage Source: Don Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

27 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Stormwater Treatment Wetlands Wetland systems that are designed to maximize the removal of pollutants from stormwater runoff through settling and both uptake and filtering vegetation Constructed stormwater wetlands temporarily store runoff in relatively shallow pools that support conditions suitable for the growth of wetland plants Source: Don Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

28 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Naturalized Detention Stormwater control facilities that are planted with native vegetation rather than maintained as lawn to improve water quality Source: Don Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

29 Thinking Outside the Pipe: Green Infrastructure Creates jobs Design Landscaping And many more!!!

30 Citizen Involvement Conserve water by installing water efficient hardware/appliances Install a 1.6 gallon low-flow toilet Install low-flow showerheads Purchase a front-loading washing machine Sue Norman and Craig Ressler (Caledonia, MI) Photo Credit: Advance Newspapers

31 Citizen Involvement Work with your municipal leaders to create a community-wide water conservation program in your city or town

32 Citizen Involvement Install a rain barrel

33 Citizen Involvement Build a rain garden

34 Citizen Involvement Encourage your city to install green rooftops and use permeable surfaces

35 Citizen Involvement Use non-toxic cleaning products

36 Citizen Involvement Carefully dispose of oil, paint, solvents, and other products

37 Citizen Involvement Reduce use of pesticides and fertilizers Peter and Anne Bray (Birmingham, MI) Photo Credit: Italia Millan

38 Citizen Involvement Don t put yard waste in streets

39 Citizen Involvement Tell your friends!!! A Citizen s Guide to Protecting the Great Lakes

40 Citizen Involvement Educate Local, State, and Federal Public Officials

41 Together, we will protect our Great Lakes! (313)